How to Photograph Protests 

Also, protests correlate to ideology, so reading about the core ideology gives clues on what might be highly relevant in the protest scene.

The last protest I was a part of was for the George Floyd protests. People were taking pictures from afar,, not me I was getting in there. I wanted to capture that mood. People's faces.. people's frustration. And I got police involved with the crowds because that's where it was aiming at when police would show up. I Incorporated all of it. For the first time me doing such photography I think it turned out marvelous.

I remember too well the brave youngsters who protested the undemocratic coalition u turn over the usury of 'student loans' in 2011. I went to help them against what proved to be a carefully planned police kettling of 99.9% well behaved protesters on Nov 11th (I think!). As photographers it is also most important, if we are trying to capture the 'truth' in any event that we are mindful to the machinations of the authorities - something that rarely gets through in 'mainstream' reportage. The example on this day: the police drove a 'sacrificial van' into the middle of the crowd on Whitehall. This was clearly a knackered old training vehicle and the two officers left the van grinning, with the doors swinging open. I tried to advise the kids not to touch the van but inevitably one bloke (looking like the usual 'rentamob' type) got onto the roof. That was the 'hero' shot for the directed journos and the 'valorisation' for the 'kettling' that followed - an effective false imprisonment of thousands of innocent and brave young people defending their democratic rights. Many of these kids were girls in scant school uniform, in minus temperatures, with no access to loos etc. Disgraceful. Wish I had taken my camera to show the wholly constructed chain of events. I got out with the usual approach 'legal observer' etc.. I was not the political target of the police operation - they had been ordered to punish the youngsters - clearly. Let's not be naive in confidently stating that the police are interested in the public good at political protests - they are following orders with political bias - from before the 'Battle of Cable street' to the present moment. Perhaps we should only photograph events if we have 'skin in it' - at least in the claimed responsibility of trying to tell the truth as photographers. Just a thought.

Great vlog brian. My son is in the police and he often says if he can clearly see a person with a camera they are generally a photographer and so he will assist them with a route out if things get difficult so sometimes on a protesting occasion it's good to not hide your camera or not to blend too much. Often the police like you to have evidence whether good or bad, but they never want to rough the photographer up as he or she will have possible evidence 😊

Thank you! You're doing an invaluable good for photographers in particular, and the community in general!

Brian, your tips and contributions for your audience are just amazing! I really thank you, listening to your talks is as cool as taking pics in the street itself!

Such an incredibly informative and sadly increasingly relevant video. Your years of experience as a journalist certainly show... thanks 👍

Another great talk and advice, thanks Brian.

Thank you for sharing your wisdom!

Thank you Brian.Great advises.

I've photographed 2 parades, 1 gala and 1 protest (COP 26 as it happens) to date. Love shooting them. Always interesting characters there. You're bang on about being caught photographing someone - a smile, a thumbs up and a quick explanation of what's interesting about them - nice outfit/costume/placard etc - has usually got me a return smile. You make a lot of good points that I hadn't considered and will take on board. The one thing I find difficult is that there's so much going on, it's easy to get overwhelmed and end up shooting nothing. Hadn't thought of making a story out of them. Will definitely consider this in future. Thanks for sharing these tips from your experience, Brian.

Get your _own_ style and game-plan in place. I have covered protests and rallies and demonstrations for decades. Mostly, they all end up looking the same, IMHO... often the same crowd of people time and time again, too... but *_get in close,_* don't hang back... _get amongst it._

brilliant. thanks

Some protests in Bristol have led to the prosecution of protesters in our courts. An example would be the individuals involved in the toppling of the Colston statue. Photographers should be aware that the authorities now study social media accounts to identify those involved, you may wish to be careful about what you post online.

Thanks for the tips, which are very useful in any country. I respect you and follow you with great love from Romania.

Thank you sir

Excellent video about this subject. Thank you so much for producing and sharing it. All the best to you Brian!

Fantastic video, Brian! and very well timed. I'm starting out in my documentary photography and videos like yours are helping me build a good habit routine and a good mindset going into events like protests

Great advice and information, great video

Fantastic Brian

Great video dear Brian!

I really got a lot out of this - thank you - it's helped massively in tackling the subject for me.

Great advices! I shoot a Corona demo in Düsseldorf with a 200mm on FF and was happy with my Pictures. So I decided to send it to a big local newspaper. The man from the newspaper was polite, but now I know why he rejected with thanks ;) Thank you Brian!

Excellent video, really valuable advice. Thanks for the mention also. 👍

The presence of a lens always influences the scene - just framing something changes it profoundly. If we can be part of the protest we will get a more honest picture. There is of course no such thing as 'objectivity'; it is an epistemologically unsound claim bandied about in all fields. 'Intersubjectivity', this is the 'truth'. The best photographers understand this and are it's recording medium.

Excellent video thank you for valuable advice for the photographer community, being safe in protest is very important having good mindset having a plan

Appreciate the videos sir. The UK government is in the process of passing laws that would make the kinds of anti-war protests we see in Russia potentially criminal acts.

So great tips from the real world. 😊

you are amazing, great job

I was waiting for your new video, tks Brian!

Some very useful tips.

You sir are a top bloke helped me immensely.

Toujours aussi bon de vous écouter. Merci pour les excellents conseils. Thanks for your excellent advices ! Greetings from France !

Thanks for your tips, Brian. Greetings from Peru.

Fantastic video Brian, very informative. Some really good guidance and I’ve realised there is so much I hadn’t considered before just getting stuck in! 🤦‍♀️ I now know I was ‘cattled’ in Downing Street 😆 It helps to be prepared and I’ll take on board your suggestions, thank you! 😊

Insightful. Points amateurs in the right direction. In my case, yes I want to sell them, one zoom (makes you look professional) + NIkon D800 (indestructable). If you look like your a member of the "pack" (join them, they know how, when and where to get the best shot) protesters let you approach them, amateurs (If you look like one ) get shoved away, yelled at, "where's your card" demand to see your credentials / card. I've an ID tag labelled Press dangling from my bag. Convinced it saved my neck standing next to amateurs (small camera, one lense). I'm not a poser I just know how to blend in here (Germany). I'm sure there are others around me "playing the same role". Sorry to ramble, but that's how I (have to) do it. Oh and I take 100s, maybe end up with a dozen / handful. In my rainproof bag: cloth, spray, safety glasses, penknife, water bottle + marsbars. In my pocket: Pepper spray!

Hi Brian, very interesting post. My 14 yr old daughter is political aware and is very active in peaceful demos. Whilst here in Brighton, these are sedate in nature compared to bigger cities (especially London) the KilltheBill movement is so very important, especially with the very sad developments in the Ukraine. I hope the latter is a pivotal wake up call for the government, but alas, I fear not.

Excellent video and photos Brian, always look forward to these and I prefer your natural style of video editing, its more relaxing to listen to and definitely more authentic; Im not a fan of the "jump cut" approach to youtube editing

Very helpful Brian, but ( a small point) when you recommend prime lenses of different focal length are you thinking of them on a full frame or APCS camera?

I’d add you might want to think through whether the subject might be in danger if they’re recognizable in the photo

As far s safety, carry two shooters. One would be your camera. Well at least here in the US you can.

♥️✌️🇺🇦

Kettling is illegal imprisonment.